How soon do you expect results?

I ask this because I have been seeing all year long that my mind keeps wanting to run at the pace I had run prior to falling off the wagon. An 11-minute pace was taking it easy, and it was no big deal to finish 3 miles. Now I struggle with finishing just one mile running. Part of me knows that this is okay, while the other part keeps trying to run faster. Needless to say pacing is a big issue I am now working on again. I think it's always an issue, but I see it's moved up on my list of areas to improve upon.

The reason I bring this up is because I came across a good article about expectations with weight loss and exercise. I think if you're into running for the weight loss, then you'll appreciate the advice in it. In this day and age of instant gratification dealing with our bodies can be excruciatingly frustrating. And I don't know about anyone else, but I'm pretty darned lazy. I don't know how people become professional athletes. You have to work out ALL THE TIME! Jeez! I'm just not that dedicated.

Speaking of crazy goals, however, I've decided I'm running a half marathon this spring. The ING half and full marathon is in March, and it's time I set a huge goal for myself. Even if I walk a lot of it, it'll be such an amazing accomplishment. Plus I have found that having a specific goal like that really makes my training much more focused. I'll probably use the training plan in one of my books, but we'll see if I decide on another one. School will be done in October, and frankly I think I enjoy training in the winter more than in the summer. It's been so hot lately that it's too easy to justify not going out. The winters here are mild enough to let me bundle up easily and still run. The exercise-induced asthma will flare up big time though. We'll see how it goes!